Alexander Pope Summary

Pope, Alexander(1688–1744) Alexander Pope, England's leading poet of the Age of Reason, was born in London, the son of a prosperous Roman Catholic linen draper. His Catholicism barred hi... Read more

Biography EssayThere was a time when scholars, and educated people in general, tended to think of the first half of the eighteenth century as the "Age of Pope." Now the period is more commonly termed ... Read more

There was a time when scholars, and educated people in general, tended to think of the first half of the eighteenth century as the "Age of Pope." Now the period is more commonly termed the "Augustan ... Read more

Alexander Pope's biographer Maynard Mack has estimated that the poet's personal library contained between 650 and 750 volumes. Such a collection would have been similar to those of other contemporary ... Read more

In the following essay, Rumbold investigates post-Restoration cultural attitudes about women and gender in light of Pope's religious and political sympathies as well as his physical infirmities... Read more

In the following essay, Spacks elucidates the function of the “ruling passion” theory in the Epistles to Several Persons by positing it as a corollary of fictional reality. Discussing &#... Read more

In the following essay, Stephanson considers Pope's identification with the female voices of Eloisa to Abelard, “On the statue of Cleopatra,” and Sapho to Phaon as an artistic str... Read more

In the following essay, Wheeler addresses the autobiographical aspects and personal tone of The Temple of Fame, speculating on the nature of Pope's attitude toward literary fame. When Pope sent... Read more

In the following essay, Thomas demonstrates how a variety of eighteenth-century women responded to Pope's poetry in terms of cultural issues surrounding their ability to create literary art, fo... Read more

Rogers is a prominent literary historian specializing in eighteenth-century studies and a recognized authority on Pope. In the following essay, which originally appeared in his An Introduction to Pope... Read more

In the following essay, Morris discusses Pope's attitudes toward the literary past, particularly his “veneration” of Dryden's poetry, in terms of both the classical theory ... Read more

In the following essay, Pollak outlines differences between Pope and Swift in their formal responses to eighteenth-century sexual ideology, highlighting the emergence of modern cultural attitudes abou... Read more

In the following essay, Nuttall attributes the dynamic elements of Pope's literary style to his use of the poetic techniques of Virgil as evidenced by his youthful translations of Homer'... Read more

In the essay below, Butt examines the inspiration behind Pope's poetry, including "the inspirations drawn from fancy, morality, and books." The twentieth-century reader is beginni... Read more

Edwards was an American educator who has written extensively on poetry and politics. In the following essay, originally published in his This Dark Estate: A Reading of Pope (1963), he discusses proble... Read more

In the essay below, Atkins offers a deconstructionist reading of Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, focusing on the relation of the self to the other. An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot is normally read as Pope... Read more

In the essay below, Rogers provides a publishing history of the various editions of The Dunciad, stating that they show Pope was "a brilliant poet and acute businessman, sensitive to the follie... Read more

An English poet and dramatist, Byron is considered one of the most important versifiers of the nineteenth century. In the following excerpt from a letter which refutes the points made in W. L. Bowles ... Read more

Many scholars consider Stephen the most important literary critic of the Victorian Age after Matthew Arnold. In the following excerpt, Stephen judges the moralistic quality of Pope's verse. The... Read more

Saintsbury has been called the most influential literary historian and critic of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His studies of French literature have established him as a leading a... Read more

Auden was an English poet and critic who belonged to the generation of British writers strongly influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud; he considered social and psychological commentar... Read more